Raipur: The Congress is the only party that can provide capable leadership to the country against the Bharatiya Janata Party and emergence of “any third force will provide advantage” to the BJP-National Democratic Alliance (NDA, the BJP-led alliance), the principal opposition party has said.
The Congress’ rejection of a third front comes at a time when Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal have been seeking to forge an anti-Congress, anti-BJP federal front, as a third alternative. Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has also been seeking to challenge the Congress’ numero uno status in the opposition camp.
On Saturday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge called for an alliance of like-minded parties to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party as in the 2004 general elections, when the Congress-led United Progressive Front (UPA) had defeated BJP and its allies.
“Indian National Congress is the only party in the country that can provide capable and decisive leadership to the country. From 2004 to 2014, our alliance with like-minded parties served the people of the country effectively. And we once again look forward to forging a viable alternative by aligning with like-minded parties to defeat the anti-people/undemocratic BJP government,” Kharge said in his opening address at the 85th Congress Plenary, underway in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
Kharge had also spoken on similar lines at an election rally in Nagaland this week, when he had said that Congress was in talks with other Opposition parties and will lead the Opposition alliance “that will come to power at the Centre in 2024”.
The political resolution of the party that was passed at the plenary also reiterated the party’s call for an alliance with “secular and socialist forces”.
“Unity of secular and socialist forces will be the hallmark of the future of the Congress party. Congress should go all out to identify, mobilise and align like-minded secular forces. We should include secular regional forces who agree with our ideology. There is an urgent need for a united opposition to take on the NDA on common ideological grounds. Emergence of any third force will provide advantage to the BJP/NDA”, the resolution stated.
Kharge’s statement and the assertion in the resolution comes at a time when opposition unity seems to be in a state of disarray.
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Rahul-TMC’s war of words
Hours after Kharge spoke of forging an Opposition alliance in Nagaland, former party president Rahul Gandhi, while speaking at a poll rally in Meghalaya, hit out at the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress.
“You know the history of the TMC — the violence and scams that take place in West Bengal. You are aware of their tradition. They spent a huge amount of money in Goa (a reference to last year’s Goa assembly elections which TMC contested but fared poorly in) and the idea was to help the BJP. That is exactly the idea in Meghalaya. The TMC’s idea in Meghalaya is to ensure that the BJP is strengthened and come to power,” Gandhi had said.
Assembly elections in Meghalaya are scheduled to be held Monday.
Following Ganghi’s comments, TMC leaders like Abhishek Banerjee, Derek O’Brien and Mahua Moitra took on the Congress, saying that it had been unsuccessful in taking on the BJP.
“@INCIndia has failed to resist @BJP4India. The irrelevance, incompetence and insecurity have put them in a state of delirium. I urge @RahulGandhi to revisit the politics of vanity instead of attacking us. Our growth isn’t driven by money, it is people’s love that propels us,” said TMC MP and party’s no.2, Abhishek Banerjee in a series of tweets Wednesday.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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